The reinforcing effects of houselight illumination during chained schedules of food presentation

Pigeons' keypecking was maintained under two- and three-component chained schedules of food presentation. The component schedules were all fixed-interval schedules of either 1- or 2-min duration. Across conditions the presence of houselight illumination within each component schedule was manipulated. For each pigeon, first-component response rates increased significantly when the houselight was extinguished in the first component and illuminated in the second. The results suggest that the increase was not the result of disinhibition or modification of stimulus control by component stimuli, but appears to result from the reinforcement of responding by the onset of illumination in the second component. Additionally, the apparent reinforcing properties of houselight illumination resulted neither from association of the houselight with the terminal component of the chained schedule nor through generalization of the hopper illumination present during food presentation. The results of the present series of experiments are related to previous demonstrations of illumination-reinforced responding and to the interpretation of data from experiments employing houselight illumination as stimuli associated with timeout or brief stimuli in second-order schedules.     

Conservatism as motivated avoidance of affect: Need for affect scales predict conservatism measures

We propose that individual differences in the motivation to avoid emotions are related to political conservatism. We argue that because conservatism is concerned with managing uncertainty and emphasizes ego-control, conservative ideologies match with the motivational concerns of those individuals who find emotions to be uncertainty-enhancing and dysfunctional. In a group of 267 participants, positive associations were found between emotion avoidance and right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and support for conservative policies. Negative associations were found between emotion approach and conservatism measures.     

When competence and love are at stake: Achievement goals and perceived closeness to parents in an achievement context

In two studies, college students’ achievement goals were linked to their perceptions of closeness to their parents following an exam. In Study 1, mastery-approach goals positively predicted perceived closeness immediately after an exam, prior to receiving feedback. In Study 2, mastery-approach goals again positively predicted perceived closeness, but performance–avoidance goals interacted with exam performance in predicting closeness. Specifically, poor exam performance predicted feeling distant from parents among those high in performance–avoidance goals but not among those low in performance–avoidance goals. This suggests that parental attachment may be involved in the achievement strivings of adults.     

Telepsychiatry with rural American Indians: issues in civil commitments

The use of live interactive videoconferencing to provide psychiatric care, telepsychiatry, has particular relevance for improving mental health treatment to rural American Indian reservations. There is little literature on civil commitments in telepsychiatry and none specifically addressing this topic among American Indians. This article reviews telepsychiatry in the mental health care of American Indians, civil commitments and telepsychiatry in general, and the current state of civil commitments in American Indian communities. We conclude by considering commitment through telepsychiatry in rural reservations and offering guidelines to assist practitioners in navigating this challenging landscape. Civil commitments of American Indian patients residing in rural reservations can be successfully accomplished through videoconferencing by thoughtful and informed clinicians. However, much more work is needed in this area, including research into the cultural attitudes and perspectives towards commitments and further inquiry regarding potential legal precedents, as well as case reports and examples of this work.     

Unrealistic optimism and event threat

Individuals typically exhibit "unrealistic optimism" (UO), the belief that they are less likely than the average person to experience a negative event. This may be because, fearing the event, they try to reassure themselves by distorting their reasoning to conclude that they are at comparatively little risk. If this is so, the greater the "event threat" (i.e., the more serious the event's consequences and/or the greater the likelihood that those consequences will be experienced), the more reassurance should be required, and the greater the UO that should be observed. This prediction was tested in a study in which students (N = 148) were informed about a type of heart disease that could develop in later life due to inadequate diet when young. The risk attributable to diet was stated to be either slight (low-threat condition) or great (high-threat condition). Participants were asked to rate their own risk and that of the average student of developing the disease; question order was counterbalanced. The effects of event threat and question order were found to interact: event threat affected UO in the predicted way, but only when the question about own risk came first. The results are explained in motivational terms. Implications for health education are discussed.     

Studying, Practicing, and Mastering: A Test of the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior (MGB) in the Software Learning Domain

The present study tested the model of goal-directed behavior (MGB). The model proposes that behavioral intentions to perform instrumental behaviors are primarily motivated by desires to perform the acts. In turn, desires mediate the effects of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control, and anticipated emotions on intentions. Construct validity for MGB variables is assessed, and the predictive utility of the MGB is compared with that of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). College students ( N = 102) provided measures for MGB and TPB variables while participating in a training program to use statistical software. We focused on two goal-related instrumental behaviors: studying handbooks and practicing with the package. The results show that the MGB accounts for a greater proportion of variance in intentions and instrumental behaviors than does TPB. Although desires mediate most of the effects of other predictors on intentions to perform the instrumental behaviors, it is proposed that when the behavior is normatively relevant, or when self-efficacy appraisals play a major role, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control may directly affect intentions.     

Social support, positive states of mind, and HIV treatment adherence in men and women living with HIV/AIDS.

Numerous studies have linked social support to better medication adherence among illness groups, but few have examined potential mechanisms for this relationship. Relationships were examined between social support, depression, positive states of mind (PSOM), and medication adherence among HIV positive men who have sex with men (n = 61) and women (n = 29) on highly active antiretroviral therapy. Depression and PSOM were evaluated as potential mediators of the relationship between support and adherence. Cross-sectional data showed that greater social support and PSOM related to better adherence whereas higher depression scores related to nonadherence. PSOM partially mediated the relationship between social support and adherence. PSOM may be an important mechanism through which social support is related to better medication adherence in this population.     

Complete Axiomatizations for Reasoning about Knowledge and Branching Time

Sound and complete axiomatizations are provided for a number of different logics involving modalities for the knowledge of multiple agents and operators for branching time, extending previous work of Halpern, van der Meyden and Vardi [to appear, SIAM Journal on Computing] for logics of knowledge and linear time. The paper considers the system constraints of synchrony, perfect recall and unique initial states, which give rise to interaction axioms. The language is based on the temporal logic CTL*, interpreted with respect to a version of the bundle semantics.     

Exposure therapy for PTSD delivered to veterans via telehealth: predictors of treatment completion and outcome and comparison to treatment delivered in person

Recent research has focused on the effectiveness of evidence-based psychotherapy delivered via telehealth services. Unfortunately to date, the majority of studies employ very small samples and limited predictor and moderator variables. To address these concerns and further replicate and extend the literature on telehealth, the present study investigated the effectiveness of 12-session exposure therapy delivered either via telehealth (n = 62) or in person (n = 27) in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Findings demonstrated that although older veterans and Vietnam veterans were more likely to complete the telehealth treatment, telehealth findings were not influenced by patient age, sex, race, combat theater, or disability status. Exposure therapy delivered via telehealth was effective in reducing the symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, stress, and general impairment with large effect sizes. Interestingly, exposure therapy via telehealth was less effective than exposure therapy delivered in person; however, lack of random assignment to condition limits conclusions of differential effectiveness. Overall, these findings support the utility of telehealth services to provide effective, evidence-based psychotherapies.     

Labour Market Discrimination: the Lived Experiences of English-Speaking Caribbean Immigrants in Toronto

The study examined the lived experiences of immigrants in Toronto from Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, with emphasis on their perceptions and experiences of labour market discrimination. The study employs a qualitative methodology and adopts a critical policy research framework which included a series of in-depth interviews. Based on the central argument that there is a disjuncture between the human capital model used at the policy level and the understanding of immigrant human capital on the ground, the study has found structural and institutional practices inherent in the Canadian labour market that are principal reasons for many immigrants’ poor labour market outcomes. Evidence from the study strongly suggests that there is an issue of racism and sexism at play in the Canadian labour market that negatively affects outcomes for Caribbean immigrants in Toronto.